A bill to authorize appropriations for certain maritime programs of the Department of Commerce for fiscal 1982, and for other purposes.

(Reported to House from the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries with amendment, H. Rept. 97-63)

Authorizes specified appropriations for fiscal year 1982 for certain Department of Commerce maritime programs including: (1) ship construction, acquisition, and construction differential subsidies; (2) operating-differential subsidy payments; (3) research and development; (4) operations and training; (5) fleet expenses; and (6) maritime education. Authorizes supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 1982 for employee benefits.

Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, to allow the Secretary of Commerce to reduce the construction differential subsidy rate by five percent under specified circumstances.

Authorizes an operator receiving operating differential subsidy funds to suspend its subsidy contract under certain conditions.

Authorizes the Secretary to establish alternate trade routes, via a range of different ports, during the seasonal closure of the Saint Lawrence Seaway.

Redefines the terms "foreign commerce," "foreign trade," and "vessel" to include the employment of certain methanol (methyl alcohol) producing barges.

Redefines the term "noncontiguous domestic trade" as used in such Act to include the carriage from the United States to offshore burn sites of chemical wastes for incineration at sea.

Prohibits a vessel from receiving a construction or operating differential subsidy if it is not offered for enrollment in an approved sealift readiness program.

Reduces the sums available for obligation pertaining to commercial demonstration ocean thermal energy conversion facilities or plantships.

Authorizes the Secretary, during fiscal year 1982, to waive certain minimum spending obligations for fishing vessels and facilities if such reserved obligations will not be utilized for such purposes during fiscal year 1982.

Revises membership of the Board of Visitors to the United States Merchant Marine Academy.

Amends the Shipping Act, 1916, to prohibit an ocean freight forwarder from receiving compensation from a common carrier in regard to any shipment in which the forwarder or certain others have a beneficial interest.

Directs the Secretary to compare repair and outfitting costs for the training vessel Bay State with reactivation and conversion costs for the steamship Tulare in order to determine the appropriate vessel for use as the Massachusetts Maritime Academy training ship. Requires such study to be submitted to Congress within 90 days of the date of enactment of this Act.

Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, to authorize the Secretary, until September 30, 1983, to permit an operator receiving or applying for an operating differential subsidy under such Act to construct or acquire its vessels in a foreign shipyard under certain circumstances.

Authorizes the Secretary to make construction differential subsidies available to United States-built or documented vessels for replacement or upgrading of such vessels' existing propulsion machinery in order to improve energy efficiency. Establishes guidelines for the approval of such subsidies.

Sets forth procedures for the negotiation, acceptance, and payment of such subsidies by the Secretary.

Requires replacement propulsion equipment to be of United States origin except under specified circumstances.

Classifies such upgraded vessel as "new" or "reconstructed" for specified purposes of such Act. Reduces the age of such vessel by ten years for purposes of the obligation to replace it under any operating differential subsidy and capital construction fund program or contract.